donea

Hi!!! I'm curious to know if anyone has visited the Audrey Hepburn home at Tolochenaz. I understand that it is in Vaud which is next to Lausanne (???), please correct me if i'm wrong.<BR><BR>Does anyone know the train route to get there from florence? any info would be much appreciated.<BR><BR>While I'm at it, I'm a bit confused about train travel days within a eurail/euro/country pass. Does a travel day constitute unlimited, free travel within that 24-hour period (12:00 to 24:00)? <BR><BR>For example, if i wanted to go on a day trip from florence to rome, and be back the same day, will that use up only one travel day? Please pardon my naivete, I just want to clarify this so I can decide between buying point-to-point tix or a pass.<BR><BR>Thanks again ever soooooooo much!!!

kite

Donea, to be exact, Lausanne is the capital city of Vaud Canton and Tolochenaz is a village located some 15 kilometers closer to Geneva than Lausanne. Audrey Hepburn's house had been open to the public till the end of October. Then unfortunately for Audrey's fans, the left family of the current owner of the property wished to close it. That's as much as I know.

Patrick

Yes, as much train travel as you can fit in from midnight to midnight counts as just one day. There are some separate rules for overnight trains, also allowing after a certain time in the evening to count as the next day, but you'll need to check the rail Europe website to check that out if it means anything to you.<BR><BR>Are you doing a eurrail pass or a three adjoining country pass, or just a one country pass?

donea

Thanks kite and Patrick for such helpful comments. It's sad to know that Audrey's home has been closed to the public but i do respect the owner's wishes...<BR><BR>Patrick, when i visit europe in the fall of 2003, i will be based in florence. I wanted to take some day trips around italy (or possibly (?)neighboring countries) which is why i asked about the pass vs point-to-point tix. I think i'm leaning towards ptp tix for w/in italy trips so i have the option of staying longer in a town. PTP tix seem to be quite affordable with a fairly central location as florence for trips within italy...even counting the round-trip costs. <BR><BR>As for visiting neighboring countries, i have yet to decide where i want to go and find out how much time i have...<BR><BR>So, thanks soooo much again to both of you!!!

Patrick

Sounds like you're doing your homework by estimating the costs both ways. I know a lot of people (myself included) have overspent by buying a pass which may have cost more than the point to point tickets. On the other hand,it only takes one or two long expensive trips to make the pass worthwhile sometimes, and then offers you the temptation to just hop on and off trains at will for shorter trips. There's sometimes a real psychological barrier when you ask if it will be worth it to buy tickets to a small town you know nothing about. But when you have a pass, you feel you have nothing to lose by trying it out.

donea

patrick, I agree with the whole psychological aspect with the pass vs ptp tix...yeah, that is part of the advantage with the pass. <BR><BR>Despite a lot of negative feedback about Pisa and its tower being a tourist trap, i just have to see it--it's a weird childhood fascination thing. Yet, I know I don't plan to spend the day staring at it...with the pass, i can easily hop on to the next train to visit the next town without paying &quot;extra&quot;!<BR><BR>dilemma, dilemma...well, i'll figure out my itinerary then, i'll go from there...Thanks again!